What Would You Do? -The County Preparedness Fair

What Would You Do?

This was the title of the preparedness fair in my town last Monday.  And they were able to answer this question with all the booths and info available at the fair.  

Outside of the building there were all sorts of the emergency vehicles, an earthquake simulator from the Great Utah Shake Out,  Be Ready Utah, fire trucks, and rescue vehicles, and free hot dogs and drinks.  Inside there were various retailers, the Red Cross, the gas company, the electric company, and CERT representatives.  There was a lot of information all in one place, but it was exactly what the general public needs to know about for any emergency.  

In Utah we live in an earthquake zone and it was fun to try out the earthquake simulator, provided by the Great Utah Shake Out program, to teach people what to do in an earthquake.  Every year my youngest and I participate in the Great Utah Shake at home, and my kids participate at their schools, so she knows what to do during an earthquake.  The man running the simulator was very impressed with my 6 year old, and that she could answer all his questions.  It was quite entertaining on my part.  He said that in the 3 years that he has run the simulator she was the first child to know what to do in an earthquake.  Proud prepper-mom moment :)

Blood, free backpacks, and stickers is what we found in the kid-zone.  It was set up for kids and they were able to make 72-hour kits and were given a backpack and supplies to assemble into a kit.  We got there 30 minutes after it started and missed getting a backpack....so no picture :(  But I was impressed with the supplies and extras available for free for the kids.  There was also a moulage station.  What is a moulage station you might ask?

This is all make up....NOT REAL!!

Fake wounds!!!  The above picture is from a disaster simulation day at a hospital that my kids were able to participate in.  It was set up for firefighters and other medical crews to practice for the real disaster.  It was pretty realistic.  But at the preparedness fair my youngest was too squeamish to try it.  So I borrowed this picture from a few years ago to share.  I hope it isn't too gross. But I noticed that there was a Boy Scout troop in attendance at the fair and they were LOVING the moulage station!

I also learned a few important things as I walked around to the different booths.

• Signing up for a reverse 911 phone call system is important to know what is going on in my area.  If there was a disaster or other emergency I would get an alert on my phone. I need to sign up!
• I can dial 211 on my phone and get information about all kinds of county programs.  Counseling, law enforcement info, library, government services, etc.  The United Way provides this service in Utah.  
• There is a CERT community where I live.  It was great to chat with them and sign up to be a part of their group. 

 There was plenty of information on earthquakes and I was again impressed by the county that I live in.  They take preparedness seriously and are ready for an emergency. But it also requires the help of the general public to take charge of their families and prepare for a disaster.  I can't put all my eggs in one basket and hope that someone will be there to take care of my family after an earthquake.  So I prepare for emergencies and have supplies and food on hand to keep us safe until help can arrive.  That is the purpose of a preparedness fair like this one, to share the information, and hopefully people will take action for themselves and not just assume that the emergency crews will be there to help them in an emergency.  Because it isn't "if" it happens.....it's "when" it happens....what will you do??